Similar, But Not
by carzla
Summary: [One Shot] Lucifer had no affection for humans, except one. Maybe two. Sam Winchester was one of them, and Dean Winchester too. The parallels between Dean and Michael were near endless, all except one... and that made all the difference.


_**Similar, But Not**_

_Disclaimer:_

_Supernatural belongs to The CW. I only own the idea for this little story, which was inspired by Lucifer saying he liked Dean in S05E04 "The End" and how Lucifer tried to talk Michael out of fighting each other in S05E22 "Swan Song". Thank you._

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><p><span><strong>Full Summary:<strong>

**[One Shot] Lucifer had no affection for humans, except one. Or perhaps two. Sam Winchester was one of them, for obvious reasons, and perhaps, Dean Winchester as well. The parallels between Dean and Michael were near endless, all except in one aspect… and that made all the difference.**

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><p>It was well known that Lucifer disliked humans from the moment they were created. The only bloodline that he grew to care about was that which his true vessel would come from. It had been born mostly out of necessity, because he needed to be able to escape the Cage and finally, <em>finally<em> meet Michael again. To do that, he required knowledge of the descendants of Cain and Abel, and eventually, one Samuel Winchester.

But before Sam, there was Dean. Lucifer's interest in the other Winchester stemmed from the fact that he was Michael's true vessel. He had had millennia to plan his rise, and so when the time came to put the cogs into place, he spared some interest in getting to know Dean as well.

It wasn't difficult. Dean and Sam were nigh inseparable in their early years, even more so once Mary died. It was then easy to get information on Dean purely because he was almost always with Sam – and Lucifer had very many demons watching Sam.

Dean took his father's words to heart, to be his younger brother's protector. It was a role that the older son had borne ever since. Surprisingly, not once had Dean rebelled against that heavy responsibility placed on him when he was far too young, he continued to love Sam with all his heart. Perhaps Dean loved Sam even more than he would otherwise have.

It gave Lucifer a sense of déjà vu, to see the unconditional, all-encompassing love Dean had for Sam.

Because, once upon a time, he had experienced that too. It had been a wonderful, glorious feeling, he knew it as fact. He remembered the times he'd spent in Heaven with Michael teaching and guiding him. He even remembered that even after Raphael and then Gabriel were created, Michael still preferred his company over their younger brothers. It was as if Lucifer was special to Michael, just as Michael was special to Lucifer.

But now, he could no longer recall with great clarity how that feeling of being loved by Michael actually _was_. Because at the end of the day, Michael had chosen to follow Father's words to the letter. Thus with nothing to prove otherwise, he expected the same, sooner or later, from Dean Winchester.

He was proven wrong.

The Winchesters had gone through many things over the years. Things that would've caused near-irreparable strain in most brotherly relations, but the bond between Sam and Dean remained strong despite everything they were put through and were forced to endure. In the end, after Dean got past the initial disappointment and anger, he would always, _always _choose Sam. Even if it meant going against the rules. Even if it meant _disobeying._

It was this last point that made Dean different from Michael.

Lucifer believed the moment he realized that was the point when he tried to hate Dean Winchester.

(It didn't take.)

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><p>For a time, Lucifer had wondered what it would be like to be in Sam's place (to <em>be<em> Sam). To experience Dean's _(Michael's) _warmth and love, to have his elder brother choose him over All Creation (over _Father_) no matter what happened. It was a fanciful notion, and he locked the thought away almost as soon as it had formed.

(It still spoke volumes though, if anyone knew, that he still had that idea tucked away in a corner of his mind.)

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><p>After Sam said yes, what Lucifer erased from Sam's memory was the fact that he took some time to sift through Sam's best memories of Dean. Nobody (other than maybe his absent Father, if He even <em>cared<em>) would know that he supplanted himself into those memories as Sam to feel warmth of Dean's affection and love. Nobody needed to know that often times, he imagined Michael in Dean's place.

The image did not always take.

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><p>In the end, when he felt Sam fighting desperately – far more frantic than his initial attempts to wrest dominance away from Lucifer had been – for control to prevent Lucifer from pummeling Dean to death (because <em>why<em> did this flawed human being love his younger brother so much that he would defy God's script when angels who were higher entities, when _Michael_ couldn't, _wouldn't, _do the same?), he made his decision.

Lucifer was anger. He'd had millennia to stew in it, and right at that moment, he was so, _so_ annoyed with Dean Winchester. Annoyed that Dean would appear again, would choose to do the stupidest thing so he could be there with Sam. Because Dean Winchester did not give a damn about sensibility, rules and destiny when it came to his younger brother. So it was a huge slap to the face to witness the stark difference between Michael and Dean right at that very moment.

But above all, Lucifer was tired. Tired of all this meaningless conflict between brothers.

He had not wanted to kill Gabriel. But the youngest archangel, his favorite brother after Michael, had forced his hand. Gabriel did not understand, did not see that fighting Michael _wasn't _his end game. He couldn't care less about the humans, if they lived or died, even though he felt a sense of betrayal that Gabriel had chosen the side of the humans. It still hurt more that Gabriel wasn't able _to see._

Lucifer did not want to fight Michael because he knew that it was _pointless_. He just wanted to see his elder brother again, and the only way to do so was during the End of Days. So unfortunately for Gabriel, Michael would always come first. He would allow no one, not even another brother, to prevent this long-awaited reunion.

But ultimately, despite having some reluctance about his role, Michael would not listen.

Michael would _always_ be The Good Son. The obedient soldier. The whole reason he had to force the Apocalypse was because Michael would not have appeared before him otherwise, just because it wasn't _ordained_.

So he let Sam take over, let his true vessel enact the plan that he had figured out even before getting confirmation by virtue of being inside Sam's psyche. He gave way without letting Sam know it was Lucifer's choice, pretended to attempt taking back control and feeling a sense of pride in Sam when it didn't have to be all that much pretence. A part of Lucifer wasn't sure if his decision was also influenced by how Sam was recalling all the moments he had spent with Dean. The same memories that Lucifer had secretly accessed.

(He wondered if Sam had intentionally chosen to recall those memories to try to manipulate him. If it had really been deliberate, Lucifer would be impressed. But, truly, it did not matter.)

Somehow, _both_ Winchesters had gotten under his figurative skin with their unshakeable sibling bond. He had grown to care about Sam _and _Dean, in his own oblique way.

The Winchesters wanted to save the world. Dean wanted to save Sam. Sam wanted to save Dean.

He was still the Devil, however. He could have left Sam and that act alone would've derailed the Apocalypse. But he did not. When Sam dragged Michael off the edge, Lucifer let it happen, may even have subtly aided in keeping Michael locked in his substitute vessel as they fell back into the Cage. Because this way, Sam and Dean got only a portion of what they wanted. And Lucifer…

Lucifer finally had Michael.

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><p><strong>So I hope that I kept Lucifer in-character. I wanted to show that he really did not want to fight Michael, but at the same time, he <em>is <em>the Devil and so he still kinda needed to be a bastard even if he let Sam wrest back control. **

**Or did Sam manipulate him via memory barrage? (Lucifer would be/is proud. xD")**

**Either way. All the brotherly feels! Hope you enjoyed it!**

_**carzla**_


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